


A Beginning of Sorts

by Mademoisellesnowflake



Series: A Love Story of Sorts [1]
Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types, Romeo et Juliette - Presgurvic
Genre: Also Tybalt's being a butthead here, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I can't believe I forgot to tag modern au whooooops, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 21:50:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16542938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mademoisellesnowflake/pseuds/Mademoisellesnowflake
Summary: Benvolio meets a whirlwind of emotion who changes his life for good by becoming fast friends with him. What happens when Benvolio realises that he has fallen for the whirlwind called Mercutio?





	A Beginning of Sorts

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing this monstrosity for entirely too long and I hope there's no mistakes because I just need to get this out of my system. Also known as the one where Benvolio uses entirely too many nature words to describe people and the one where Mercutio is not as wild as he was supposed to be.
> 
> I really hope you'll like it!!

Benvolio’s life was rather normal, he thought. He attended the same school as his cousin Romeo since Romeo’s parents had taken Benvolio in when Benvolio’s parents had accepted the diplomatic job that had taken them to Canada. Benvolio hadn’t wanted to leave Italy and Verona and Romeo’s parents had been kind enough to take Benvolio in so that he could continue in his old school with his cousin and friends. Aside from the living arrangements, his life was easy and normal. He went to school and practiced karate and played piano in his free time. Sometimes he needed to herd his idiotic, love-struck cousin around since Romeo wasn’t very attentive when he was in love.

Which, to be honest, was quite often, Benvolio thought. Whether it was with Elena, Alba, Francesca, or Dafne, Romeo seemed to be in love all the time. Benvolio found this dumb, as he couldn’t see the point in falling in love that easily. He felt like he needed to know the person he’d love better than Romeo usually did know the women he loved. He’d much rather spend time with his friends than worry about love.

The normalcy ended when a whirlwind called Mercutio transferred to Benvolio’s school. Mercutio was wild and _different_ , so different from anything Benvolio had known. Mercutio didn’t shy away from being himself, from shining out like a sore thumb from the boring crowd Benvolio had seen as normal.

Which was, of course, the exact reason people hated Mercutio so much. They didn’t like the fact that Mercutio challenged their normalcy by standing out. They didn’t like Mercutio who was so obviously not straight at all. They didn’t like Mercutio flirting with men and existing as he did.

It all scared and fascinated Benvolio at the same time. He had known that he wasn’t exactly straight either but seeing someone else exist so unapologetically like Mercutio made Benvolio think it was alright for him to do so as well. But when he realised that it was Mercutio not being straight that made people hate him so much, Benvolio thought he should never come out to those people in order to protect himself. He didn’t want to stand out or to cause problems with Romeo’s parents who were kind of rich and politically powerful. (Benvolio wasn’t very sure how, though, but he knew he didn’t want to make them look bad to the public.)

And yet, Mercutio made all of Benvolio’s carefulness fly away in the wind.

One afternoon when Benvolio was about to leave the school as his classes had ended, he noticed Tybalt and a group of his friends around someone. They were laughing and pushing that someone around. Getting closer, Benvolio noticed that the someone was Mercutio. Mercutio was looking exhausted and before Benvolio could reach the group pushing Mercutio around, Mercutio fell down on the ground.

“Hey!” Benvolio called out, now rushing to help. “Stop that! Leave him alone!”

“Or what?” Tybalt asked and turned to look at Benvolio. “Are you gonna fight me? Are you gonna help the little gay boy? What will your precious Montague parents say when they find out?”

“To be honest, they won’t be saying much from Canada”, Benvolio said as he walked closer. “And I will fight you if you don’t leave him alone. Go bully someone else.”

Tybalt glared at Benvolio for a moment before telling his gang of friends to leave with him. Benvolio waited for a moment before rushing over to Mercutio who had rolled on his back. His face was bruised, and he was glaring daggers at Benvolio who couldn’t understand why Mercutio would do such a thing. As Benvolio reached out to help Mercutio stand up, Mercutio swatted Benvolio’s hand away and stood up himself.

“What’d you help me for?” Mercutio asked and leaned on the wall. “Why would you help the little gay boy when everyone else hates him? Don’t you hate me too?”

“I don’t know why I should hate you”, Benvolio said and shrugged his shoulders. “You seem interesting to me; you exist so unapologetically that I actually like it. I’d like to know you better, if you let me.”

Mercutio’s face scrunched up and he looked down, letting his long hair hide his face from Benvolio. His shoulders shook, and he sniffled, making Benvolio pity him a little. Mercutio was clearly lonely, and it was hurting him. Benvolio put his hand on Mercutio’s shoulder and then, without thinking any further, he pulled Mercutio into a hug.

“Damn you”, Mercutio hiccupped, “damn you all! You have no idea how it feels when they all hate you because you went and fell in love with the worst of them all. Because I’m a man and he’s a man and because they call it a sin because I like a man but it’s not wrong when he makes all those disgustingly sexual jokes about his cousin who has been raised basically as his sister!”

“It’s not a sin for a man to love another man”, Benvolio said and hoped he sounded more certain than he felt. “I would be susceptible to sin as well if it was the case. Other people just don’t know yet.”

“You’re gay too?” Mercutio asked and sounded so hopeful that it almost broke Benvolio’s heart. It was so easy to see that Mercutio had not even single friend who was like him.

“Bi”, Benvolio mumbled, “or that’s what I think anyway. I don’t get crushes easily.”

“You’re still more like me than the rest of them”, Mercutio said and pulled away from Benvolio. “Do you think we could try being friends?”

Benvolio smiled. Mercutio really was a whirlwind in how quick his mood changed. He was easy to like and easy to please. Benvolio felt that the budding friendship would be interesting as Mercutio was so unlike anyone else he had ever spent time with.

“I’d like that”, Benvolio said and nodded. “I’m Benvolio. Want to come over to my uncle’s place? I’ve been told to bring friends over more and it’d be nice to get to know you better.”

“Sure”, Mercutio said, smiling a smile so wide that Benvolio was sure Mercutio’s face would split. Benvolio wondered if Mercutio ever got exhausted from feeling so much as Benvolio certainly got exhausted by just seeing Mercutio feel so much and so often.

“You’ll also meet my idiot cousin Romeo”, Benvolio said as the two began walking away from the school. “He falls in love a lot and keeps talking about his crushes. It’s very annoying. I honestly wish he’d talk more about, I don’t know, the weather, I guess.”

“He sounds fun”, Mercutio said, laughing softly. Benvolio noticed a bruise forming on Mercutio’s temple as Mercutio laughed and, without thinking, reached out to touch it, making Mercutio jump up in surprise. Benvolio immediately withdrew his arm in surprise.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to surprise you”, Benvolio said and looked at Mercutio’s eyes that were wide as tea cups. “It looked painful and I – I don’t think I was thinking.”

“You’re odd”, Mercutio said and smiled again. “I like it. I like it when I’m not the odd one.”

Benvolio nodded and for some time, the two boys walked in silence. Except that it really wasn’t silent at all. Mercutio was humming some song that was unknown to Benvolio and the wind was blowing their coats, making a soft shuffling sound. Cars and bikes drove by and there were birds singing in the warmth of the September afternoon as they walked towards the Montague house.

Benvolio wondered if Mercutio noticed all that noise. He seemed to live fully in the moment but at the same time he seemed like a person who just made a lot of noise without noticing it. He just seemed to exist, without paying attention to something as small as the white noise around him.

As they stepped into the yard of the Montague house, Mercutio looked amazed. The house was indeed big, and the autumn weather had made the trees start to change colours, making the garden look almost flaming with the warm autumn colours. Benvolio liked the colours of autumn and would often sit in the garden just looking at the trees.

“This is a huge house”, Mercutio whispered and looked around the garden. “It’s almost as big as my uncle’s house. How rich exactly is your family?”

“Richer than necessary”, Benvolio said as he opened the front door. “We could do with lot less, actually. I wish they’d at least donate to some charity because no one needs this much money.”

“That’s…a very good idea”, Mercutio said and from his expression Benvolio could see that he was thinking of something. “I need to ask my uncle if he donates to any charity because he’s disgustingly rich too.”

Benvolio nodded and opened the front door of the house. They were greeted by the cat of Romeo’s mother, who had adopted the cat from Benvolio’s parents before their move to Canada. Benvolio picked the cat up while kicking off his shoes. He brought the cat closer to Mercutio, letting the cat sniff him and get to know his smell while Mercutio scratched its fur and giggled when the cat licked his fingers.

“Let’s go see if Romeo’s home”, Benvolio said. He led Mercutio upstairs and knocked on Romeo’s door before pushing it open. The door revealed Romeo sitting on the floor and trying to play whatever new videogame he had bought last. Benvolio sighed and walked over to Romeo, poking his head a few times to get his attention away from the game. Romeo took off his headphones and looked up to Benvolio, smiling as he recognised his cousin.

“Perfect timing, Ben!” Romeo said and put the game controller in Benvolio’s hands. “I need your help with this level; I can’t get past this one particular boss no matter how hard I try.”

“Fine, I’ll help you, but you need to entertain my friend while I help you”, Benvolio said and gestured for Mercutio to come inside Romeo’s room. “This is Mercutio, he’s my friend now. This is my cousin Romeo, he’s an idiot and he falls in love a lot.”

Mercutio laughed and sat down next to Benvolio who began playing the game. Romeo detached the headphones from the TV and soon the room was filled with the sounds of Romeo’s high fantasy video game. For a moment Mercutio just sat quietly and watched Benvolio’s playing but soon enough he reached for his backpack and took out a sketchbook and started drawing. He hummed quietly as he drew, glancing at Benvolio and Romeo from time to time.

Benvolio managed to beat the evil dragon rather quickly, leaving Romeo stare at him dumbfounded. Mercutio laughed as he took the controller from Benvolio and continued the game since Romeo was too stumped for words to do it himself.

“Why are you so good at that?” Romeo mumbled and took the controller from Mercutio. Mercutio grinned at Romeo and continued drawing whatever he had begun to draw. Benvolio wondered if Mercutio would show him the drawing later.

“I’m not as competitive as you are”, Benvolio said, “I don’t feel like I need to win on the first try and I don’t get frustrated when I don’t win.”

Romeo rolled his eyes and continued playing. He didn’t pay as much attention to the game as he’d done before, though, as he was still chatting with Mercutio and Benvolio while he played. Thanks to Romeo’s conversation skills, Benvolio found out that Mercutio didn’t spend much time at home but instead either trying to study at the library or sometimes drawing people at parks. He even showed Romeo and Benvolio some of his drawings that, in Benvolio’s opinion, were amazing. Mercutio was great at capturing people’s movements and expressions, especially the sour one of his uncle Escalus.

The afternoon passed with the three new friends chatting and laughing. Romeo abandoned his game to go make some cocoa for the trio, mainly because he still didn’t trust Benvolio’s cacao-making skills – and because he wanted to show off a little. When Romeo was away making the cocoa, Mercutio leaned his head on Benvolio’s shoulder and sighed quietly.

“Tell me if you’re uncomfortable being this close to me”, Mercutio whispered as he hooked his arm with Benvolio’s. “I just…I thought this could feel nice.”

“You need a hug?” Benvolio asked. When Mercutio nodded after a moment, Benvolio pulled him into a hug. At first, Mercutio seemed a little hesitant but then he hugged Benvolio rather fiercely. It was the good kind of tight hug that grounded you after a long day. Benvolio could tell from the almost desperate way Mercutio held him, that Mercutio hadn’t been hugged in ages which, in a way, hurt Benvolio a lot. Mercutio didn’t let go even when Romeo got back in the room.

“Did you start a hug party while I was gone?” Romeo asked and placed the cocoa cups on his desk. “Mind if I join?”

“Be my guest”, Benvolio said, and just a moment later Romeo was hugging Mercutio from behind. Mercutio stiffened and for a moment Benvolio was sure that Mercutio was actually shaking. But as soon as he’d thought he’d felt the trembles, they were gone. Mercutio was leaning his forehead against the side of Benvolio’s neck and simply staying there.

“We should do hug parties more often”, Romeo declared and looked up at Benvolio. “Mercutio is perfectly hug-shaped.”

“What?” Mercutio asked, sounding completely bewildered.

“Don’t mind him”, Benvolio said and laughed a little to himself. “Romeo is weird. You’ll get used to that.”

“I think I’m the weirder one”, Mercutio whispered, making Romeo laugh. “I’m just…tired so I don’t have energy to be weird. I can be weird tomorrow at school if you still want to spend time with me.”

“I’m looking forward to it”, Benvolio said, smiling.

It felt nice to just lie there in the little hug pile, Benvolio thought. Mercutio really was perfectly hug-shaped and the way he almost clung to Benvolio felt like he was pushing all the stray pieces of Benvolio back together. Mercutio was warm and reminded Benvolio distantly of a relaxed cat lying down on its human and purring a little. Benvolio could even imagine Mercutio purring.

Well, that was a rather odd thought, or so Benvolio thought just a moment before he noticed that Mercutio had fallen asleep. There was a little snore from Benvolio’s right and when Benvolio turned to see what had caused it, he saw Mercutio’s face all relaxed.

“Aww, did we exhaust poor Mercutio?” Romeo asked as he brushed some of Mercutio’s curls off his face. “Come to think of it, doesn’t he always seem so energetic at school? I wonder if he uses up all his energy during the day and falls asleep during the afternoon a lot.”

“I wonder if he sleeps at all”, Benvolio muttered while Romeo sat up and took a photo of Mercutio and Benvolio with his phone. Mercutio muttered something – “Don’t drive that way”, perhaps? – in his sleep and made a rather distressed noise. Just as Benvolio was about to wake Mercutio up, Mercutio’s phone started ringing – making the most obnoxious noise Benvolio had ever heard – and Mercutio woke up with a jolt.

“Hey?” Mercutio asked and yawned as he answered his phone. “No, Val, I’m at a friend’s house…yes I do have friends. … Did uncle ask about me? … No, I’ll walk, don’t send any cars…I’ll stay here a little bit longer unless uncle wants me home right now…yeah, bye, see you, Val.”

Mercutio ended the call and groaned. He rubbed his face and turned to look at Benvolio rather apologetically.

“Who was that?” Romeo asked and handed Mercutio his cocoa. “You have a really weird ringtone, it almost scared me out of my skin.”

“It was my brother, Val”, Mercutio mumbled and looked down on his lap. “The ringtone is what he chose it to be, so I’ll know to answer his calls. I don’t really answer my phone unless it’s Val who’s calling because uncle doesn’t always know how to help him if he needs help.”

“Is everything fine with him?” Romeo asked and took a sip of his cocoa.

“Yeah, he was just worried because I wasn’t home yet”, Mercutio said and smiled a little at himself. “I like to spend time alone, but he always gets worried if I don’t get home or call him to tell where I am. He’s been so worried ever since the accident…”

“What accident?” Benvolio asked absentmindedly. Mercutio’s eyes widened, and he drew in a sharp breath when Benvolio’s question sunk in.

“I…our parents died in a car crash year and a half ago”, Mercutio whispered, looking down at his lap once again. “I was in the car with them and ever since Val’s been kind of afraid that I’ll end up doing something stupid. He doesn’t want to end up alone with uncle since he’s kind of scared of him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that”, Benvolio said softly and moved a little bit closer to Mercutio. He patted Mercutio’s back awkwardly and let Mercutio lean his head on his shoulder again. “If it helps, you can talk to us if you need to.”

“Thanks”, Mercutio whispered.

After that, the afternoon slowly turned into evening and the boys spent their time rather quietly. Romeo put on a silly romantic comedy which made the boys laugh. Mercutio mostly leaned on Benvolio and sketched the faces of Benvolio and Romeo. He also sketched some of the characters of the film, smiling softly as he drew. He was oddly quiet, but Benvolio couldn’t fault him in that, seeing as it had been him and Romeo who had brought up bad memories from Mercutio’s past.

Eventually Mercutio had to leave as his uncle wanted him home. He looked a bit defeated as he was standing at the doorway where Romeo and Benvolio had come to see him off. It was like Mercutio really didn’t want to leave the house yet.

“We’ll see you tomorrow at school”, Romeo said and hugged Mercutio again. When Benvolio would think of the moment later, he would realise that it was the most he had ever seen Romeo hug anyone which would make Benvolio a little sad. He knew Romeo liked physical closeness and realising how little he hugged his other friends was one of the things that always made Benvolio worry about Romeo.

“I’m looking forward to it”, Mercutio said, smiling softly. “Thanks for all the hugs. They were nice.”

“Oh, you’ll be getting many more”, Romeo said and winked at Mercutio. Mercutio smiled – his smile looked really nice, Benvolio thought – and waved to Romeo and Benvolio as he started walking away. There was a small spring in his step as he walked which made Benvolio think he was alright even after the bad memories had been brought up.

After that afternoon, Mercutio became a steady part of Benvolio’s life. They hung out at school and helped each other with study work. It somehow surprised Benvolio as he’d seen Mercutio as someone who wasn’t very interested in studying but instead he found out that Mercutio was very interested in medical science and wanted to work in a trauma centre when he was older. He didn’t necessarily want to be a doctor; he just wanted to help people.

Romeo, on the other hand, continued his quest to find love. He dated girl after girl even though it seemed like he wasn’t actually interested in a single girl he knew. Benvolio secretly wondered if he should bring up the topic of his sexuality with Romeo but shut the thought before it could even fully form. If Benvolio was sure of anything, it was that Romeo was straight, period. He never went after men, never thought of them romantically. He didn’t shy from having friendships with men, whoever those men were attracted to, but that was all that came to it.

Sometimes Benvolio thought he should come out to Romeo but found that he was too afraid of how Romeo would react. It made no sense, Benvolio knew, but his fear always beat his sense and left him cowering in the small corner of his mind that he had reserved all to himself. That small corner, where he could hide from the world if it ever became too scary.

“What’re you thinking?” Mercutio whispered to Benvolio’s ear at the library as Benvolio’s thoughts once again strayed to love and coming out. “I thought you wanted to study physics with me, but you zoned out totally. That’s not like you.”

“Sorry, I ended up thinking about love”, Benvolio muttered and rubbed his temple. “The gravitational forces reminded me of crushes and then my mind strayed to Romeo and love and how I might have to come out to him someday in the future. It’s terrifying, honestly.”

“He doesn’t know?” Mercutio asked, forgetting to whisper momentarily. The librarian shushed them and Mercutio blushed, not wanting to anger the people at the library. Lowering his voice back to a whisper, he asked: “Why haven’t you told him? I thought he was okay with minorities like us.”

 _Like us_ , he said. The way Mercutio always included Benvolio when talking about minorities warmed Benvolio’s heart. It was the little gesture, the inclusion, that mattered so much to Benvolio. To know that he was like someone else, that he wasn’t alone in the world always calmed him down a little.

“He is”, Benvolio whispered and looked at his book. “I just always worry that it doesn’t extend to me. I guess I’m scared of that thought.”

“Should we talk to him?” Mercutio asked, looking oddly serious. “I can’t imagine him treating you any differently when he finds out. He’ll love you all the same after you tell him, I’m sure of that.”

 _When_ and _after_. Mercutio gave no chance to Benvolio not coming out to Romeo. It was like Mercutio couldn’t imagine not coming out, not being honest of one’s own feelings. He had always been so forward, so honest to himself that Benvolio’s fear probably seemed silly to him. He probably couldn’t understand the absolute dread of being hated, of being shunned away.

“We could…we could try”, Benvolio breathed. He was still terrified of Romeo’s reaction, of losing his cousin because of their differences. He didn’t want to lose the safety of a friendship he’d had ever since he had been a child.

“Come now, what kind of cousin would abandon you for being bisexual?” Mercutio asked, as if he’d read Benvolio’s thoughts. Mercutio smiled encouragingly and grabbed Benvolio’s hands, holding them ever so softly. “He was fine with me; how could he not be fine with you?”

Benvolio looked down again, ashamed of his own fear. He was afraid of the rumours, of how he would be treated by everyone. He was afraid of his parents finding out, as they were definitely too catholic to accept anything but a straight son. He was afraid of the fallout, because Romeo’s parents would accept him, and the fact alone could tear his family in two.

“Are you alright, Ben?” Mercutio asked as he slowly got closer to Benvolio, placing his hand on Benvolio’s shoulder. “You look almost green. Is it too scary after all? We don’t have to tell him yet, we can prepare for it as long as we need to.”

Mercutio’s “we” warmed Benvolio’s heart. They had somehow become so very close in such short time that it would be difficult to imagine life without Mercutio. He was constantly over at Benvolio’s aunt’s place, spending time with Benvolio (and occasionally Romeo too) and just _existing_ there. For Benvolio, it had become so normal that no Mercutio would have been abnormal.

“My parents won’t react well, and I’m terrified of that”, Benvolio whispered and squeezed Mercutio’s fingers a little. “I don’t want them to hate me or disown me, but I don’t really want to pretend that I’m something else than what I truly am.”

“If your parents won’t accept you then mine – I mean my uncle – _will_ accept you”, Mercutio said with confidence, forgetting to whisper again which earned him a glare from the librarian. Mercutio blushed a little and squeezed Benvolio’s hands as he whispered: “We could be brothers and you could have a family that won’t shun you for who you are. My family has a lot of faults, but they don’t hate people simply because they are different.”

When Benvolio still looked rather green and terrified, Mercutio hugged him, almost crushing Benvolio against his chest. Benvolio sighed and leaned his whole weight against Mercutio. Mercutio’s positivity gave him hope of being accepted by someone, someone who really mattered.

By someone like Mercutio.

No, that thought was forbidden to Benvolio. If he was afraid of losing Romeo after he hypothetically came out, he was even more afraid of losing Mercutio for hypothetically falling for him. After all, who was Benvolio? He was like a shadow when compared to Mercutio’s light and energy, Benvolio was the moon when Mercutio was the sun. Mercutio was so bright, so brave, and Benvolio would rather have just hidden, closing all his fears deep inside his heart where no one could see them. Benvolio was never, ever, allowed to fall for Mercutio because that would extinguish all of Mercutio’s light that Mercutio needed to live.

“You zoned off again”, Mercutio whispered into Benvolio’s ear. Benvolio felt a blush creeping onto his face and hoped with all his heart that Mercutio couldn’t see it.

“Sorry”, Benvolio mumbled. He sighed again and pulled away from the hug, looking at Mercutio. He was grinning, shining like the sun itself, even in the dim reading light of the library. Benvolio was truly lucky to have such a force of nature as his friend.

“What do you say if we go get some ice cream, seeing as our studying isn’t really progressing?” Mercutio asked quietly as he began to pack his books away. “I know a great place around here that gives student discount for their biggest ice creams. I’d imagine you would like their ice cream.”

“That sounds good”, Benvolio mumbled and stood up. “Some ice cream would be really nice right now.”

“Good, let’s go”, Mercutio whispered and walked Benvolio outside, holding his hand the entire time.

* * *

Of course, Benvolio didn’t manage to process his feelings for very long. On the same evening, Romeo declared that he had befriended a Capulet, more specifically Juliet Capulet who just happened to be Tybalt’s cousin. When Benvolio asked why exactly Romeo would do such a thing, Romeo answered by telling Benvolio that he didn’t believe in the old family feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. He had decided to find out what kind of people the Capulets were, and he had decided that Juliet was friend material and that was the end of the discussion.

Tybalt wasn’t pleased at all and tried to break up the friendship with all he had. His hate towards Mercutio seemed to have been heightened as well, making Tybalt dangerous. He actually began a few fights with Mercutio, and Benvolio had had to stop at least two of those fights. He didn’t know what Tybalt said or did to provoke Mercutio, but Mercutio was always furious when Benvolio dragged him away from Tybalt. He was always screaming insults at Tybalt, sounding like he wanted to choke Tybalt by the neck.

Seeing Mercutio so angry scared Benvolio a little. To him, Mercutio was a force of nature, but never destructive. The way Mercutio seemed to want to destroy Tybalt reminded Benvolio of a typhoon that tore everything out of its way as it passed.

It was absolutely terrifying.

On one such day, Benvolio was dragging Mercutio to the Montague house because Mercutio had slit his lip and didn’t want his uncle to see it. It had become Benvolio’s responsibility to patch Mercutio up because it seemed like no one else actually cared enough to do it – except for Mercutio’s brother Val, who Benvolio had yet to meet, but Mercutio didn’t want him to see Mercutio injured. Therefore, it was always Benvolio who made sure that Mercutio’s cuts and bruises never got infected.

“Why do you always fight him?” Benvolio asked quietly as he let Mercutio in his room once again. Mercutio turned around, glared at Benvolio and sat down on the floor, looking defiantly at him. The black eye and split lip made him look more serious than he really was.

“Why do you care?”

“I care because we’re friends, dammit!”  Something white-hot had started boiling inside Benvolio. He felt rather shocked when he realised it was anger and that he couldn’t stop speaking because he was too angry. “I care because you keep getting yourself hurt but you don’t want your uncle or brother to see it and someone has to make sure you won’t get hurt any worse! I care because you don’t care enough, you moron!”

Mercutio’s gaze softened a little. He still looked defiant and serious, but there was also this soft fondness behind his eyes. Benvolio shook his head and left the room to find the first aid kit. He hoped that his outburst would keep Mercutio there long enough for Benvolio to patch him up. Someone needed to look after the whirlwind that made Benvolio feel much more than he had been used to.

“I heard yelling”, Romeo said from his room when Benvolio was carrying the first aid kit to his room. “Is everything alright? Did Mercutio get hurt again? I can help you with him if you need any help.”

Benvolio rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I think Mercutio is the one who needs to be helped”, he muttered and opened his door again. It revealed Mercutio still sitting on the floor and looking defiantly at the cousins. Romeo walked to him and sat at his left while Benvolio ended up sitting on his right side.

“Was it Tybalt again?” Romeo asked, his voice so soft that Benvolio almost couldn’t hear it. There was a gentleness to Romeo’s voice that had been reserved for Benvolio when he did something stupid for such a long time that it was weird to hear it used for someone else.

“He keeps badmouthing you”, Mercutio whispered. He tried to curl into himself but halfway through hissed in pain and clutched his side. Benvolio lifted Mercutio’s shirt enough to see a huge bruise forming there and sighed as he began applying salve on Mercutio’s skin.

“You don’t need to protect our honour”, Benvolio said and began cleaning and patching up Mercutio’s slit lip. “If he actually does or says something that would damage our reputation, there are lawyers to take care of that. You can’t always be getting hurt for us because we aren’t important enough to warrant someone getting hurt. Especially not someone who is our friend.”

Mercutio turned his gaze to look away from Benvolio. His lips were pursed and his back so rigid that Benvolio was scared for it. He actually looked angry but so was Benvolio and Benvolio had resolved that he would make Mercutio see sense for once. He hated seeing Mercutio so bruised and tattered when Mercutio didn’t actually need to fight anyone.

“He disgusts me”, Mercutio said, frowning angrily. There was an odd kind of hardness to Mercutio’s eyes that gave away the feeling Benvolio most likely wasn’t supposed to see. “Everything in him: the way he talks and walks and takes all the space to himself, it _disgusts_ me! The world would be much better if he didn’t exist at all; everything would be so much better without him. He’s the worst!”

 _But you really don’t think that, do you_ , Benvolio thought. _Something inside you still wants acceptance from him and he knows it and therefore won’t give it to you._

It hurt Benvolio to know what was hurting Mercutio and that Benvolio alone couldn’t help Mercutio. Tybalt was using Mercutio’s feelings against him and it made Benvolio, who usually was the pacifist, want to beat Tybalt to a pulp. Benvolio only wanted to hold Mercutio and tell him it was alright, and that people did accept him as he was and that he didn’t need the acceptance from the likes of Tybalt. He wanted Tybalt to leave Mercutio alone for once, so Mercutio wouldn’t have to deal with all the insults.

“Why does he always attack you, though?” Romeo wondered aloud and put a band-aid over one of the cuts on Mercutio’s arm. “I thought he’d target me since he doesn’t like me and Juliet being friends.”

Mercutio sighed and pulled his arm away from Romeo. “He targets me because I had a crush on him and because he thinks being gay is a sin”, he said, avoiding Romeo’s eyes. “He thinks that it’s contagious and that if he puts me down enough times, I’ll get away from him.”

“That’s…very stupid”, Romeo said and shook his head. “Love is not a sin unless it’s the twisted kind of love that hurts someone else. If he actually read the Bible or listened to friar Lawrence during Sunday school, he would know that. I’m sorry you have to deal with him being a butthead like that.”

To Benvolio’s surprise, Mercutio giggled. He repeated the word “butthead” and giggled even harder, making Romeo smile as well. Mercutio hid his mouth behind his hand as he continued giggling like a delighted child who had just heard a bad word. The sound of the delighted giggles warmed Benvolio’s heart as he knew that the damage Tybalt had done wasn’t too deep that time.

But alas, he was wrong.

Mercutio ended up staying overnight at the Montagues’ as he didn’t want to worry little Valentine with his black eye and slit lip. Benvolio arranged a mattress on the floor of his room and Romeo made some cocoa for all of them to drink before going to bed. The evening was mostly quiet for the three of them as they watched another film in Benvolio’s room. Mercutio was using Benvolio as a pillow as they watched the drama about star-crossed lovers.

Benvolio went to sleep hoping that Mercutio would be able to rest as well despite the pain. However, Benvolio woke up during the night to the feeling of someone holding his hand. Someone, that was sitting on the edge of his bed. When the someone sniffled quietly, Benvolio recognised him as Mercutio, who had probably woken up during the night.

“Mercutio?” Benvolio asked quietly. He sat up and placed his free hand on Mercutio’s shoulder. “Is something wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

Mercutio sniffled again and turned his face away from Benvolio. He covered his mouth with his free hand as his shoulders shook. Benvolio squeezed the hand that was still holding his as he moved to see Mercutio’s face. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his thin frame shook.

“Lie down, Mercutio”, Benvolio whispered as he gently guided Mercutio down onto the bed. He pulled the quilt to cover Mercutio and lay down himself, pulling Mercutio into a hug. Mercutio buried his face against Benvolio’s chest, trembling like a little tree during a storm.

“It hurts”, Mercutio managed to whisper. He was hugging himself while Benvolio held him. “Why does he have to keep on hurting me for who I am? Why did I have to be born like this? Why do I still want to be accepted by him?”

Benvolio’s heart broke a little. Mercutio, kind and confident as he was, sounded so small and sad as Benvolio held him against his chest. Benvolio wanted to shield his dear whirlwind of emotions from all the bad things of the world, including the insults of the damned Tybalt Capulet. He wanted to guard Mercutio’s heart from the evils that tried to break it again and again, leaving Mercutio to shatter all alone. Benvolio wanted to make sure that Mercutio wouldn’t have to cry alone again, sitting on the edge of someone else’s bed.

“Hey, Benvolio”, Mercutio whispered through his tears, “do you think someone as great and kind as you could ever love someone like me?”

Benvolio’s heart skipped a beat when all his hopes of Mercutio liking him back reawakened. He held Mercutio a little bit closer to him as Mercutio tried to curl into himself. Benvolio wanted to confess to Mercutio so badly, he wanted Mercutio to know how much he loved his dear whirlwind but when Benvolio opened his mouth, he couldn’t bring the words to life. He only wanted to ease Mercutio’s pain and show him how loved he actually was, but his throat stubbornly refused to work.

“Yes”, Benvolio breathed and kissed Mercutio’s forehead. “Someone like me would love you, I believe. But remember that I’m not an especially great person; I’m just me, no one else.”

Mercutio cried harder and pressed his forehead against Benvolio’s shoulder. As the soft cries escaped Mercutio’s throat, Benvolio could only hope that no one woke up to the sound. His aunt, especially, was quick to wake up if she ever heard any sounds of distress and had been the one to comfort Benvolio after nightmares more than Benvolio could remember.

“Do you want me to go get Romeo?” Benvolio whispered. He felt so useless for not knowing how to deal with all that pain. “He’s better at comforting people than I am. I…I think he would know how to make you feel better.”

Mercutio sniffled. “Please don’t be gone for long”, he begged, “I’m afraid of being alone.”

“I won’t be gone for long”, Benvolio promised. He got out of the bed and walked to Romeo’s room quietly. He woke Romeo up, explained what had happened, and led Romeo to Mercutio.

While Benvolio had been gone, Mercutio had worked himself into a panic attack. He was hyperventilating, and his eyes were slightly unfocused. Romeo sat next to Mercutio and began trying to calm him down and guide him out of the panic attack. Meanwhile, all Benvolio could do was to hold Mercutio’s hand and look desperately at Romeo, trying to find out what he should do to help Mercutio. As Mercutio eventually calmed down, he wouldn’t let go of Benvolio’s hand.

“Do you want me to make some cocoa?” Romeo asked softly. He helped Mercutio to sit up and lean on Benvolio and waited for Mercutio to nod his head before leaving the room to make some midnight cocoa.

“I’m sorry for causing such a scene”, Mercutio whispered after Romeo had left. He was holding Benvolio’s hand lazily and leaning his head on Benvolio’s shoulder. It was all so tender, so soft that for a moment Benvolio forgot he hadn’t confessed to Mercutio yet.

“It’s alright. I love you.”

The silence that followed made Benvolio realise two things in rapid succession: he had most definitely not confessed to Mercutio yet and Mercutio was staring at him with surprise clear in his eyes. He moved so that he was facing Benvolio and smiled shyly. His eyes searched for something – maybe an indication of a lie – but eventually they stopped at Benvolio’s eyes.

“I thought no one I liked would ever like me back”, Mercutio whispered. A little spark had appeared in his eyes and it seemed to grow as Mercutio began smiling – actually smiling. “I love you. I…I didn’t have much hope of you liking me back because I’m just me and I just…I love you.”

Benvolio smiled and pulled Mercutio into a hug. “It’s because you’re you that I like you”, he whispered.

“You’re not making any sense, you know that?”

“Yes. Let’s have a proper conversation in the morning when we’re both awake.”

* * *

The following morning did not only bring clarity to the feelings between Mercutio and Benvolio; it also brought over Juliet Capulet who was fuming with rage. She had heard of the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt (Benvolio blamed Romeo for this) and how bad Mercutio had been hurt. She brought over some chocolate and ice cream to apologise for Tybalt’s actions and to comfort Mercutio.

“I can’t believe him!” she declared, walking around Romeo’s room. She was so worked up that she wouldn’t sit down even though Romeo had asked her to do so repeatedly. Mercutio was following her movement from where he sat almost on Benvolio’s lap while Benvolio was sitting on Romeo’s bed. “He’s…he’s such a butthead!”

 _Ah, that’s where Romeo got the word_ , Benvolio thought amusedly. Juliet reminded him of a small stream: she was wild and would rather have the world around her change, so she could move around than change herself. Her tiny size didn’t stop her from being furious or showing when she was displeased, which was something Benvolio appreciated greatly. He liked it when people didn’t try to hide their feelings.

“He is”, Mercutio agreed, grinning widely. He seemed to like Juliet after the initial wariness of her being Tybalt’s cousin. “But it’s his fault that he’s being a butthead. You don’t need to apologise for what he does just because you’re related to him.”

“I wish I could have a revenge on him”, Juliet said, finally sitting down on Romeo’s office chair. “Someone should knock some sense into him but if I do it my dad’s going to have a fit. ‘Ladies do not act like such’ and so on, he says.”

“You could verbally annihilate him?” Benvolio offered quietly. He could definitely imagine Juliet using her scathing intelligence to destroy Tybalt. Well, he could really imagine Juliet destroying anyone with her intelligence alone. She was absolutely terrifying in his opinion and he promised to himself to never make an enemy out of her.

“He’s more of a brute force kind of guy”, Juliet said and wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure he’d understand what I try to say to him.”

Mercutio laughed, throwing head back and hitting it on the wall. It was the kind of deep laugh that gave Benvolio the goose bumps, the kind of laugh Mercutio did only when he really was happy. It made Benvolio and Romeo smile as well, hearing him laugh like that, especially after the previous night. Juliet wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out, making Mercutio laugh even more. He fell down on his side on the bed and clutched his stomach as he giggled almost hysterically.

“I can’t have been that fun”, Juliet said when Mercutio was finally calming down. He was still lying on Romeo’s bed and chuckling softly as Benvolio held his hand. “I only said what he really is like: a totally idiotic butthead.”

“A butthead”, Mercutio repeated and grinned at Juliet. She glared at him and stuck out her tongue once more.

“Well, as we’ve established that he’s a butthead, could we talk about something else, like Benvolio’s birthday which is already next week?” Romeo asked. Benvolio rolled his eyes, knowing that Romeo wanted to throw him a party. “He’s the last one of us to turn seventeen and I want to throw a party for him.”

Benvolio shook his head, trying to signal that he definitely did not want a birthday party thrown for him. He didn’t like crowds, or the parties Romeo threw for people because they were always so loud, and it was too difficult to escape them. He’d rather just hang out with Mercutio and Romeo and maybe even Juliet because she seemed nice and fun to be with.

“How about seeing a film instead?” Mercutio asked, smiling. “I could invite my brother along too if it’s alright with you; he wants to see my friends. He’d probably love you, Juliet; he likes it when people are straightforward like you are.”

“A film sounds great”, Benvolio said quickly before Romeo could insist on the party. Benvolio really didn’t want the party and while he knew Romeo was only thinking of him, he wished that Romeo wasn’t so insistent on the party. “They made that new musical of Hamlet that’s coming out next Friday; we could try to get tickets for the premiere?”

Romeo looked heartbroken while Juliet smiled. “That sounds great”, she said, smiling at Mercutio and Benvolio. “My mother owns one of the movie theatres in town, so I can ask her if she could get us tickets for the premiere. I’m pretty sure she’d be happy to get them as a birthday present for you. I’ll just fail to mention that your last name is Montague.”

“Sounds like trouble”, Mercutio said and grinned widely. “I’m in. I love the sense of danger.”

“Let’s not cause trouble at the cinema, though”, Benvolio said. Everyone agreed, not actually wanting to cause any trouble with the Capulets. “We could go to some pizzeria after the film”, he suggested.

“I know a good one near the theatre”, Juliet told and soon she and Benvolio were throwing around suggestions until they reached a compromise that everyone agreed to. It really was easy to talk with her, and Benvolio started to understand why Romeo had found the feud between the two families so dumb. It really made no sense to hate Juliet just because the rest of his family hated Juliet’s family.

Later that afternoon, when Romeo had decided to go make some snacks to his friends, Mercutio noticed that Juliet had been staring at him for some time. When he raised his eyebrows questioningly, Juliet shook her head and checked something on her phone. A moment later she walked over to sit next to Mercutio.

“Can I braid your hair?” she asked. She looked surprisingly shy all of sudden, as if she was afraid that her question was too invading. “I’ve kind of wanted to learn to braid hair but I don’t want to make a fool out of myself by asking to be allowed to braid my friends’ hair because they all know how to braid hair and I don’t…”

“Sure!” Mercutio said and jumped down from the bed. “Just let me find my hairbrush and hair tie.”

“He likes it when people play with his hair”, Benvolio explained, amused at Juliet’s puzzled expression. “He told me once that he lets his brother braid his hair a lot because his brother likes braiding people’s hair.”

Juliet looked curiously at Mercutio as he walked back to Romeo’s room. He sat down on the office chair and moved it so that Juliet could sit on the bed while doing Mercutio’s hair. She opened some photo on her phone and started brushing Mercutio’s hair. At first, she seemed very insecure but the more braids she did, and the more Mercutio encouraged her, the more courage she seemed to get.

When Romeo returned to the room, he looked very confused, but Benvolio just shrugged his shoulders, as if it was normal for Juliet Capulet to braid Mercutio’s hair in Romeo’s room. Mercutio grinned at Romeo and reached out for one sandwich which Romeo gave him, but not without a glare. Benvolio grabbed one too and reserved another for Juliet for when she was ready with Mercutio’s hair.

“Do you think Valentine will be alright with seeing the film?” Benvolio asked suddenly. “Is he old enough to actually see Hamlet?”

“Oh, he likes tragedies”, Mercutio said, smiling fondly. “He’s a little odd; he likes to watch tragic films even though he always cries during them. He says it’s good for his emotions, but I don’t really get it. He always needs a hug after sad films.”

“He sounds like a very kind person”, Juliet said as she began braiding small braids on the left side of Mercutio’s head. “How old is he?”

“He’s fourteen but he’s tiny and looks maybe eleven”, Mercutio said, smiling widely at some thought. “We’ll probably get mistaken for his parents or something. He always gets so mad when I’m mistaken for his father or mother, it’s hilarious.”

“You don’t get mad for being mistaken for a woman?” Romeo asked between bites of his sandwich.

“It’s just extra hilarious because Val gets mad that he’s not as pretty as I am”, Mercutio said and laughed, making Juliet giggle as well. “He’ll probably be pretty when he grows up; we got the same genes after all.”

“What do your parents look like?” Juliet asked as she started doing the second braid on the side of Mercutio’s head. “Do you look like either of them or are you more of a mixture of them? I got my mother’s looks, thankfully, but my nose and eyes are from my father.”

Mercutio’s smile had disappeared from his face and he blinked a few times before swallowing and fishing his phone from his pocket. “They died a few years ago, but I think I still have a few photos”, he mumbled and opened the photo gallery in his phone. “Let me take a look.”

“I’m sorry to hear that”, Juliet breathed. Benvolio noticed that she looked truly shocked and realised that no one had probably told her about Mercutio’s parents. Benvolio had imagined that Tybalt would have told her because that was what he was like; laughing at another people’s pain.

“I found their wedding photo”, Mercutio said quietly. He gave his phone to Juliet and Benvolio moved so that he could take a look as well. Benvolio saw immediately that Mercutio had his father’s face and smile but that his long, curly hair and kind eyes were from his mother. Mercutio’s parents looked so happy in the photo that Benvolio found himself sad for them, for having died before their time.

“You look a lot like your father”, Juliet said, smiling at the photo. “You smile just like he does in here. I’ve never seen anyone smile just like their parent.”

Juliet returned the phone to Mercutio and hugged him. He hugged her back, and it seemed to Benvolio that he was holding her a little bit tighter than necessary. Juliet patted his head a little awkwardly and Mercutio pulled away wordlessly, looking a little sad. Benvolio made a mental note to give him another hug later. He really seemed to need the hugs he got.

Juliet made a third braid on the side of Mercutio’s head and tied them with hair pins she found from her bag. Mercutio asked her to take a photo of the braids, so he could ask Valentine to try to copy the style and teach it to Mercutio.

Before Juliet went back home, Mercutio gave her another hug and declared that she was the best Capulet he had ever met. Considering that Tybalt and Juliet were the only Capulets he’d met so far, Benvolio found the statement a little stupid, but laughed nonetheless when Juliet fought her way out of the embrace and poked Mercutio’s cheek instead. The boys wished her goodbye and spent some more time together until Mercutio had to leave as well.

Benvolio was already hoping it would be Friday so that he could spend his birthday with his favourite people.

* * *

Friday came, and Benvolio met Valentine – who was a little bit like an excited puppy – for the first time. He really was tiny, only a little more than half of Benvolio’s size. He seemed so excited to meet Benvolio and Romeo for the first time that he forgot how to speak for a moment. Benvolio wondered if Valentine knew about him and Mercutio having gotten together – Benvolio hadn’t told Romeo yet – and if the excitement was about meeting Mercutio’s boyfriend for the first time.

After the film (during which Valentine cried multiple times) the group ended up in a nearby pizzeria and found a table big enough for their group. Romeo and Juliet started discussing the film and Valentine tried to join the discussion but seemed too shy to actually try. Mercutio was holding Benvolio’s hand under the table and smiling a little as they waited for their pizzas. Everything was so nice and comfortable.

And of course, something had to break the good atmosphere.

When they were going home from the pizzeria, Juliet got a message that someone would be picking her up from the nearby square. The boys wanted to wait for the person who would pick her up to make sure that she wouldn’t get kidnapped or anything like that – there had been a series of kidnappings less than a year ago and everyone was still a little bit on edge after it. Juliet gladly agreed, waiting for the pick-up person much rather with her friends than alone.

Except that the person who was supposed to pick up Juliet was also giving a ride to Tybalt Capulet who, when he saw she was hanging out with Montagues, got out of the car, ready to fight. He looked angrier than Benvolio had ever seen him, and all the anger seemed to be directed at Mercutio.

“What are you doing with these people, Juliet?” Tybalt asked, glaring at Mercutio. “What are you doing with the little gay boy and his friends? Don’t you know your parents don’t really like these people?”

“Oh, let them be, you moron”, Juliet snorted and moved so that she was in between Tybalt and the others. “I’m with my friends; can’t you tell? I’m sorry but I do have a life outside of my family.”

“You shouldn’t have it with these people, though”, Tybalt said, trying to force his way past Juliet but Juliet kept her ground, not moving an inch. Valentine was right behind her and he looked absolutely terrified of the way Tybalt was talking to Mercutio. Suddenly Tybalt managed to shove Juliet aside and there was nothing between him and Valentine, who yelped in fear. Tybalt grabbed his shoulder and was about to shove him aside as well when Mercutio yelled.

“Don’t touch him!”

The sound of Mercutio’s voice being so desperate completely froze Benvolio. He could only watch as Mercutio surged towards Tybalt, his face twisted in rage. However, he didn’t actually manage to hurt Tybalt in any way, as Tybalt grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him down on the ground, making Mercutio hit his head with a sickening crack.

It was Valentine’s scream that broke Benvolio’s stupor and made him push Tybalt away from Mercutio who lay unmoving on the ground. As Benvolio knelt down next to Mercutio, he was only distantly aware of Juliet dragging Tybalt away and Valentine calling someone on the phone. Mercutio’s eyes were closed and as Benvolio touched Mercutio’s cheek, he noticed something sticky on his hair. Mercutio was bleeding on the paved sidewalk where Tybalt had thrown him.

The following hours were hazy to Benvolio. He could distantly remember arguing with someone – he had seen the man’s face in Mercutio’s sketchbook, he knew – and telling Romeo to tell his parents that Benvolio wouldn’t be coming home that night. He could remember cradling Mercutio’s head on his lap and listening to Valentine’s panicked blabbering. He remembered a hospital and calling Romeo’s mother and apologising for not coming home that night.

The next time he was aware of his surroundings was when he woke up next to a hospital bed. Valentine was sleeping partly on his lap, hugging him like a child would hug a teddy bear for comfort. When Benvolio looked up, he saw Mercutio’s sleeping face facing him. Mercutio looked so peaceful as he slept that Benvolio found himself reaching out and stroking Mercutio’s cheek.

“Who are you to Mercutio?” a voice asked from the other side of the bed. Benvolio cursed himself and looked up at the sour face of the bald man sitting on the other side of Mercutio’s bed. _That must be the uncle Mercutio has talked about_ , Benvolio thought as he sat up a little straighter, careful not to wake Valentine up. He faced the angry-looking man with absolutely no idea for what to say.

“I’m his boyfriend”, Benvolio said. No point in lying to the man who was Mercutio’s guardian. “I’m Benvolio Montague and I go to the same school as he does.”

The uncle – Benvolio really needed to ask for his name later – frowned, looking actually surprised. For a moment Benvolio thought about what he would do if the uncle didn’t know that Mercutio liked men or that he was together with Benvolio. It would be a catastrophe, Benvolio thought, since Mercutio was already in trouble for the fight and the new fact could affect whatever decision the uncle would make about what to do with Mercutio.

“Do uncles always have glaring contests with their nephews’ boyfriends?” a weak voice asked from the bed. Benvolio looked down at Mercutio to see him smiling softly. Benvolio reached out to him and held his hand, making Mercutio’s smile a little wider.

“What were you thinking?” the uncle asked, sounding furious. “I hear you’ve been getting into fights all year long but this time you got seriously hurt! Not to mention that you dragged Valentine into it and he had a panic attack in the car when we were driving you to the hospital. You’d better have a good explanation for this.”

Mercutio curled his lips and glared at his uncle. “Oh, I didn’t know you cared. I thought you only wanted to keep up the good front of the uncle who took in the gay nephew no one else wanted. You just took me and Valentine in because putting us into an orphanage would have damaged your reputation!”

“That’s not true”, Mercutio’s uncle said. He kept his voice quiet, yet strong, probably to make Mercutio listen to him. “I took you in because you father didn’t want your grandmother anywhere close to you when he saw how she’d beaten you. It was me or her and I wasn’t going to let any abuse happen to you or Valentine because you two are the only memory that I have left from my brother!”

“Then why did you get rid of my things?” Mercutio asked, his voice shaking with anger. He almost spat the words at his uncle, and Benvolio couldn’t help but think that Mercutio was trying to hurt his uncle as much as he could. “Why did you get rid of my pride flag and my posters and then claim that you’d got all of my things from our house? Why didn’t you even think of asking if something was missing or if I wanted something for my room? Why do you try to sound like you care when all you do is just hurting me?”

“There was no flag or posters when I went there to move your things”, the uncle said and looked genuinely surprised to Benvolio. “Your grandmother had been there to look after Valentine when I was taking care of the rights to become the legal guardian to both of you. She said that it was all that had ever been in your room – oh god, I was an idiot. No teenage boy has such a neat room. God, Mercutio, I’m so sorry.”

The uncle hugged Mercutio and Mercutio’s breath hitched. He tried to wriggle away from the hug, but his uncle wouldn’t let go even though Mercutio used all the strength he seemed to have at that moment.

“Go away; I don’t want you here”, Mercutio said with a shaky voice. “I want – I want dad, I don’t want you! I want mom and dad back here!”

Mercutio hit his uncle’s shoulders once, and then again as he started to cry. He kept repeating how he wanted his parents back and hitting his uncle’s shoulders as his uncle rocked him back and forth, trying to soothe him. Mercutio was almost hysterical as he kept calling for his parents and sobbing onto his uncle’s shoulder. Even when the tears were all shed, he was hiccupping against his uncle, holding onto him like a lifeline.

“I’m so sorry, Mercutio”, the uncle whispered as he rocked Mercutio back and forth, like one would rock a crying baby. “I’m so sorry for not understanding how hurt you’d been. I should have realised how much the accident must have affected you.”

Benvolio felt useless as he watched how much pain Mercutio was in. He wanted to help his dear whirlwind who made him feel so much but as he watched Mercutio’s violent display of emotion, he only felt useless. He wanted to kiss all that pain better, to make Mercutio smile and laugh again. Benvolio’s heart broke for all the pain Mercutio had been carrying all alone and he only wanted to reach out to Mercutio in hopes of making everything better for him.

Valentine sighed on Benvolio’s lap and stirred. He looked very confusedly at Benvolio before blinking a few times. He looked at Mercutio who was calm enough for his uncle to help him lie back down on the bed. He tried to stand up to get closer to Mercutio, but he almost fell over and was saved only by Benvolio’s quick reflexes.

“Are you alright?” Benvolio asked softly as Valentine stood up straight again. Valentine nodded and walked over to Mercutio’s bed and leaned over to hug Mercutio. Mercutio returned the hug, holding Valentine as close to himself as he could.

“I’m sorry for scaring you”, Mercutio whispered. He was stroking Valentine’s hair as Valentine just lay on top of Mercutio’s chest, still looking quite shaken. “I’m sorry for being a total butthead.”

“It’s fine”, Valentine mumbled. His voice was odd, as if he’d been crying, which he had probably done during the night. “You were just trying to keep me safe from that scary man. It just scared me when you got hurt and didn’t wake up. You weren’t being a butthead.”

Benvolio smiled at Valentine who was already falling asleep again. _He must have been really scared_ , Benvolio thought as he looked at Valentine’s face relaxing and his eyes closing. Soon he was breathing softly and sleeping like the child he still was.

“I’ll go get something to eat for all of us”, Mercutio’s uncle said and stood up, stretching his limbs a little. “Is the nosy boyfriend allergic to any foods? I’ll have to get him something to eat as well since none of us have eaten anything during the past ten hours.”

“I’m not allergic to anything”, Benvolio said, “but I can buy some food later to myself. I just want to stay here for a little bit longer if that’s alright.”

“No, no, I really have to get you some food because you helped us” the uncle said as he started walking towards the room. “Look after my kids, will you, Benvolio? I clearly can’t leave them unattended yet.”

As the uncle hurried away from the room, Mercutio looked a little betrayed. “I’m not a child anymore!” he said, sounding a little annoyed. “I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself. Don’t you think so too, Benvolio?”

“No, with your track record I really don’t think you are”, Benvolio said, smiling softly at Mercutio. Mercutio gave him a betrayed look, making Benvolio laugh. “But it doesn’t mean you can’t learn to do better, though. You’ve been through a lot and you’ve tried to keep yourself together so desperately that you’ve forgotten to take care of yourself. That’s why we’re here; to help you to take care of yourself and to catch you when you can go on no longer.”

Benvolio held Mercutio’s hand and leaned towards Mercutio’s face, so he could stroke his cheek. Mercutio looked like Benvolio’s words had moved him, but he tried not to show it. His eyes were glistening, and his expression looked a little sad overall. Without much thought Benvolio leaned forward and kissed Mercutio’s forehead, making Mercutio giggle nervously. Benvolio smiled at Mercutio and kissed him again, this time on his lips. Mercutio looked up at him with wide eyes as Benvolio pulled away.

It was a beginning of sorts for them, as they were still trying to understand their feelings and how to act upon them.

Later, as Romeo and Juliet managed to sneak in as well and Mercutio’s uncle complained about how cramped it had become, Benvolio understood that it was a new beginning for Mercutio with a new family and new friends. Benvolio really wanted to make it last and to make a lot of great memories with this odd and new family that had adopted him along with Mercutio.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts are forever appreciated and loved! I'm considering writing a second part for this but I'm not sure yet, I need some sleep first.


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